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Friday, January 20, 2017

Pizza Pi VI

We motored past the Cruise Ship Dock in the mid-morning calm after several days of ridiculously gusty winds. Finally we were being set free to travel in comfort, if not to sail… at least we were moving again after more than a week of being stationary.

Hassle Island ruins we did NOT visit...

I was feeling the pressure of being in the Islands during “high season”. I don’t know why I feel such an immense aversion to competing for a mooring ball or choice spot in the anchorage. I was relieved to find that our timing couldn’t have been more perfect as we motored right up to two choice mooring balls… FREE mooring balls!

N18°18.640W064°49.915

If you haven’t heard yet, Christmas Cove on St. James Island, USVI is where the Pizza boat hangs out. Recently there has been some threat to the the continued presence of Pizza Pi VI in the Cove, but after overwhelming support by way of a successful petition campaign, the USVI Powers-That-Be have renewed the permit for business and we can once again have pizza in this unique setting.

A steady stream of motorboats came and went all afternoon. The minor inconvenience of their wakes was a small price to pay for seeing these entrepreneurs succeed!

But our paradise doesn’t come without a price. Upon arrival we found that our primary water tank was empty… after we made water all the way here! We launched an investigation and - lets just say that due to a breakdown in communication - we thought we had a leaking tank.

Everything in the v-berth had to be removed once again in order for us to gain access to the tank residing beneath the mattress. With the boat in a shambles, we postponed our investigation to pick up our friends on AU2 for a trip to the Pizza Boat to place our dinner order.

Now that's a friend for ya!

Michael was generous enough to volunteer to help with our trials and tribulations and, strangely, seemed more intent on figuring this out than we did. We just figured our time had run out and that Dos Libras was once again demanding more money. No need to alter our plans, we have three other tanks and although it is a minor inconvenience to fill the others, we can certainly make-do while we gather information and review our options for repair vs. replacement of the tank.

Pickin' up the pie...

So we put everything back into the v-berth and enjoyed our afternoon and evening with friends and PIZZA!

The sunsets here are top notch and the absence of street noise, sirens and loud music from ashore (that we had grown accustomed to hearing for a week) seemed to increase the power of the stars! Just the dark canopy above and the gentle sounds of tiny waves lapping the shore, frogs in the trees and what must have been a ray as it jumped from the water near our bedroom window… lulled us to rise refreshed in the morning.

The morning stillness lured me from my bed to witness the novelty of it. Really, you have no idea what we’ve been through for the last week! The winds! How can they just be gone??? But they are, and we’re off to St. John!